Nicholas Fury
Nicholas "Nick" Fury was a soldier and intelligence agent who served the Central Intelligence Agency and later the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate as it's Director. Biography Early life The eldest of three children, Nicholas Joseph Fury grew up in 1950's New York City with his brother Jacob and sister Dawn. His father, Jack Fury, was a former American pilot during World War II. It wouldn't be until Nick became a soldier himself overseas that he would learn of how vast his father's military service was. Living in the tough streets of Hell's Kitchen, Fury became fast friends with Red Hargrove, whom they helped keep out of trouble. Fury himself was no stranger to trouble, but more than often confined it to the boxing ring where he would bout, or in the Police Athletic League where he became one of the finest marksman. Fury also played baseball during his adolescent years and had dreams of going pro like his father at one point. Vietnam War In 1967, although under age, Nick and his buddy Red enlisted into the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War. Fury received nine weeks of basic training at Fort Dix without Red Hargrove, though, eventually he reunited with Hargrove. Fury and Red's first major battle was in January 1968 when they participated in one of the first battles during the TET Offensive. During the battle, Hargrove was killed during the attack, leaving Fury with a lot of guilt over his friends death. As the Offensive continued, Fury pressed on and elected to join the U.S. Rangers, and was eventually recruited by Captain Sawyer who assigned him command of the First Attack Squad; aka the "Howling Commando's," a specially-trained band of soldiers who undertook some of the most dangerous missions of the war. Together with Thaddeus "Dum Dum" Dugan as his second in command, Fury led Robert Ralston, Howard Stark, Dino Manelli, Eric Koenig, Izzy Cohen, Percival Pinkerton, Jonathan Juniper, and Gabriel Jones, often fighting alongside such war heroes as, Captain America, Bucky Barnes and Jim Logan, the future X-Men member Wolverine. Fury and the Commando's, also participated in the Mini Tet Offensive in May of that year, however, the battle came at a cost as Captain America had seemingly perished, but the war still raged on. Even after the TET Offensive was over, and the war was winding down, the Howling Commandos continued to carry out covert missions. On one particular mission, the Howlers joined Fury for a covert mission to destroy a MIG airbase, a mission that earned Fury a brevet field commission to Colonel. Government Agent CIA For most soldiers after April 30, 1975, the war was over and it was time to go home and live a normal life again. This was not the case for Nick Fury however. Following a number of "mop-up" missions with the Howlers, Sgt. Fury was offered and accepted a job with the Central Intelligence Agency. He was flown to Langley where he began training as an agent for the CIA, serving through till his appointment to SHIELD. In 1980, Fury began a brief affair with Amber Alexis, the girlfriend of his brother. This resulted in the birth of his son Mikel who he would meet over two decades later. During his time in the CIA, Fury crossed paths with super-powered menaces that included vampires and other super-powered beings. In one such instance, he was injured in an explosion in France that began the slow deterioration of his sight in his left eye. In a near fatal state, Fury was offered the experimental Infinity Formula, which was an attempt at remaking the Super-Soldier Serum, by Professor Berthold Sternberg. He accepted, and though the Infinity Formula slowed his aging process and enhanced his physiology, Fury was thrust with a double edged sword: although his life was saved, the consequences of the Infinity Formula would haunt him throughout his life as he would become the target of various villains seeking his secret. Dr. Sternberg himself was not immune to taking advantage of Fury's delicate situation, basically holding Fury's life for ransom starting in 1986, every year through 2006 by charging Fury a high fee for more of the serum. S.H.I.E.L.D. In the late 1980's Fury was contacted by the Board of Directors of the newly organized international espionage organization called the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division and offered directorship. Fury served as S.H.I.E.L.D's director throughout the rest of the 1980's as well as the 90's and 2000's. At his side were his fellow Howlers Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones as well as long-time love, the beautiful agent Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Fury served the original incarnation of SHIELD both as administrative head and as field commander. His fearless leadership saw the organization through myriad crises and helped it rise to become the world's premier covert-operations agency. Fury and SHIELD thwarted numerous major threats to the world's freedom launched by such groups as HYDRA and the Zodiac. Following the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001, Nick Fury and SHIELD found their roles expanded to deal with the ever-growing terrorist threats. Avenger Initiative Personality and traits Despite his status as a government agent, Fury differed from the commonly accepted image. He often chose to present himself as a relatively easygoing man with a taste for Belgian ale, preferably over Hawkeye's choice of beer, Corona. Friendly and otherwise forward with his intentions when he chose to partner up the Secret Warriors to stop the Skrulls. Nick and his brother would often butt heads, but they had a great deal of respect for each other. Fury was known for his distrust and even contempt of politicians all across the globe. He especially hated both of the predominant political parties in the United States, seeing them as one in the same, and as such considered himself a Libertarian. Relationships Family Jack Fury Jacob Fury Wayne Fury John Fury Mikel Fury Friends Dum Dum Dugan Gabe Jones Steve Rogers James Logan Romances Pamela Hawley Pamela Hawley was Nick Fury's girlfriend when he was stationed in England during the Vietnam War. They fell in love, but before he had a chance to propose to her, Hawley died during an IRA bombing raid in London while Fury was away. Unbeknownst to him for many years was the fact that Hawley had given birth to his son, John, before her death. Amber Alexis Laura Brown Valentina Allegra de Fontaine Kate Neville Natasha Romanova Powers and Abilities Powers The Infinity Formula has metabolized and enhanced all of his bodily functions to the peak of human efficiency: Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Fury has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Infinity Formula, his strength, durability, speed and agility were enhanced and his aging was greatly slowed down. *'Enhanced Strength': Nick's strength was enhanced to almost superhuman levels due to the Infinity Formula. *'Enhanced Durability': Nick's durability was enhanced due to the Infinity Formula and was superior to those of ordinary humans. *'Superhuman Healing': He was able to heal broken bones, torn muscles, several gunshots, knife stabs and other severe injuries within 3 to 4 days and most lesser injuries like cuts, scrapes and burns within hours. *'Enhanced Speed': Nick can run at speeds of up to approximately 20 miles per hour, and had on occasion run a mile in little over a minute (almost 40 mph) when under duress. *'Enhanced Agility': Fury's agility was superior to that of typical Olympic athletes. *'Retarded Aging': The Infinity Formula extended Nick's lifespan by slowing the effects of the aging process. Abilities Extensive Military Training: Nick Fury trained as a paratrooper, Ranger, demolitions expert and vehicle specialist. He held an unlimited-tonnage, all-seas license as a commander of ocean-going vessels. Fury completed Green and Black Beret Special Forces training, and had been an agent of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and a liaison of the MI-6 (British Secret Intelligence). Expert Combatant: He was a seasoned unarmed- and armed-combat expert, was a heavyweight boxer in the Army, and held a black belt in Tae Kwan Do and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. Fury had honed his fighting skills sparring with Captain America (Steve Rogers), perhaps the world's finest unarmed-combat expert. In his youth, Fury learned to fly planes and wing walking. Paraphernalia Equipment SHIELD uniform, made from 9-ply Kevlar (able to withstand ballistic impact up to .45 caliber bullets) and beta-cloth, a fire-resistant material whose kindling temperature is 1,700 °F (930 °C) and also includes a long black trench-coat. Numerous S.H.I.E.L.D. paraphernalia including a radio-link tie, and a bulletproof suit. Transportation Various air, land, and sea craft provided by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Weapons Two silver personalized Colt pistols that have a 300-round magazine, and a 9 mm Parabellum, a Heckler & Koch USP Compact in 9 mm Parabellum, a SIG-Sauer P226 in 9 mm Parabellum, a Beretta 92FS in 9 mm Parabellum, a modified semi-automatic Walther PPK in 9 mm Parabellum, a Mossberg 500 shotgun, a modified LaFrance Specialties M16K, a M16 5.56 mm rifle and the Ingram MAC-10 machine pistol in .45 caliber. Also, an array of other SHIELD weapons, conventional and otherwise. Appearances References Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Americans Category:SHIELD members Category:Howling Commandos Category:United States Army Special Forces members Category:Central Intelligence Agency members Category:Spies Category:S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency Category:Torturers and interrogators